The unconscious at work in a historically black university : the (k)not of relationship between students, lecturers and management

Abstract:

The historically black and historically white universities in South Africa were
shaped by apartheid policies. Within this socio-political context the project started
when I, who was a lecturer at a historically black university (HBU), was confronted
by violent interactions between lecturers and students, and a perceived passivity
on the part of management when lecturers were threatened by students with
violence in social and academic settings. Based on socio-historical factors and my
personal experiences, I explored the experiences of lecturers at an HBU, i.e. their
relationship with students and management, to form an understanding about how
the lecturers’ experiences influenced the unconscious dynamic processes of the
intergroup transactions between themselves and the students and management.
A qualitative research method was chosen because it allowed for the in-depth
analysis and interpretation of the lecturers’ experiences in a particular HBU.
Hermeneutic phenomenology, using the systems psychodynamic perspective,
allowed for the description and interpretation of the lecturers’ experiences. Data
collection entailed hermeneutic conversations with the nine lecturers from an
HBU. In the analysis, interpretation and reporting of the findings, the interpretive
stance proposed by Shapiro and Carr (1991) was used. This analysis and
interpretation entailed a collaborative dimension – the analysed data was sent to
the lecturers to ascertain whether the analysis was a reflection of their
experiences, as well as to experts in the systems psychodynamic perspective to
ascertain whether the interpretations were plausible.
The relationship between students, lecturers and management was contradictory,
because it was marked by hope for an effective working relationship and by
continuing conflict and violence – resulting in the (k)not of relationship based on
the (k)not of achievement apparent in the lecturers’ relationship with students,
and the (k)not of performance evident in their relationship with management. The
intergroup transactions between students, lecturers and management were
marked by a reign of terror as threats of violence, or actual physical violence, were
directed at lecturers by students with little or no intervention by management. By integrating the findings with systems psychodynamic literature, several working
hypotheses and two research hypotheses regarding the (k)not of relationship
between the three stakeholders were generated.